AVE MARIA, Fla.- The Ave Maria University men's basketball team suffered their first loss in more than three weeks on Wednesday night, falling 71-66 to the Eagles of Trinity Baptist College at Donahue Gym. The Gyrenes fell victim to a hot-shooting second half from TBC, as the visitors made seven three-pointers in the second half to upend Ave Maria, who was playing on back-to-back nights in the middle of a stretch of three games in as many days.
Neither team took control of the game in the first half, as the lead switched hands several times and never grew above five points for either side. Trinity Baptist was able to take the lead into halftime, as AMU did not make a field goal for the final 5:31 of the half, allowing the Eagles to end the half on a 9-3 run. Sam Battle scored six of TBC's nine points in this stretch, giving the Eagles a 28-25 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Ave Maria looked to take control early in the second half, starting the frame on a 17-5 run to take a nine-point lead, 42-33, with 15:14 remaining. The Gyrenes' lead would last for a little over seven minutes, before Trinity Baptist rallied to tie the game at 50 with 8:08 on the clock. The lead would again change hands several times, before a three-pointer from Jacari Randolph gave the Eagles the lead for good with 5:14 on the clock.
Trinity Baptist built their lead to nine points, 67-58, with 1:39 remaining before the Gyrenes nearly came all the way back. Four free throws and a Matt Gillis layup, coupled with a pair of TBC turnovers and a missed layup, allowed AMU to cut the Eagles lead to three, 67-64, with 49 seconds left. After another turnover, Ave Maria had a chance to tie, but turned it over to allow TBC to ice away the game from the free throw line.
The Eagles' biggest advantage came from long distance, as Trinity Baptist made eleven of their 23 three-point attempts. This was especially apparent in the second half, when the Eagles shot 58.3 percent from three-point range, making seven of 12 tries. In total, Trinity Baptist shot 57.7 percent from the field down the stretch, overcoming a 48.1 percent mark from Ave Maria.
Eric Klekas paced the Gyrenes offensively, scoring 17 points. Matt Gillis had a solid second half, scoring all 14 of his points and grabbing all eight of his rebounds in the final 20 minutes. The third Gyrene in double figures was Klajd Kiri, who made five of his shots to record ten points, while also pulling down five rebounds.
There is no rest coming for the Gyrenes, who are right back on the court on Thursday night. Ave Maria will head back across Alligator Alley for the second time in three days for a meeting with the University of Fort Lauderdale. AMU was victorious in the first meeting between the teams this season, winning 83-66 on December 2. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
